Contents

Summary

Official Solicitation

SONIC TAKES THE LEAD in the race to fix the planet! "Thunder, Rain and Lightning": Sonic and the team link up with Lupe to destroy one of Dr. Eggman's super badniks! How does this tie into fixing the shattered world? And just what secrets does Lupe keep? Then, in “Hidden Costs” Part One, Sally and Bunnie hunt down the final Chaos Emerald—which is in the heart of Egg Boss Clove’s forbidden territory! Featuring cover art from jammin’ Jamal Peppers and a “BATTLE!” variant from Sonic comics all-star Tyson Hesse!

Story One

Thunder, Rain, and Lightning

The issue begins with Sonic dragging Lupe through a plain with sling-rings, while being chased by E-118 Tau. Chip, riding on Sonic's head, complains about the speed at which they are going; Sonic says he could've stayed on the Sky Patrol, but Chip says he didn't want to miss the "excitement". Lupe stops while Sonic proceeds ahead, luring Tau into a terrain with lighting, before Lupe pulls him back with the sling-rings while Tau is struck by lightning and destroyed.
Sally, fighting Badniks alongside Lupe's Wolf Pack, laments that Sonic isn't following her plan. Bunnie saves her while she is distracted and reminds her that Sonic almost never follows her plans and that his is just as good. Sally says it was still more reckless and dangerous than her plan, only for Nicole to remind her that she herself acted recklessly by challengingPhage, against whom they used the same tactic Sonic and Lupe used to defeat Tau. An embarrassed Sally closes Nicole's handheld to shut her up, admitting she can't argue with the results of Sonic's plan. Bunnie assures Nicole that Sally, who will risk only her own life for others, will one day realize she is not an acceptable casualty. Nicole is unconvinced, but concurs nonetheless.
Sonic returns and asks Lupe if the fight brought back memories. He then wants to thank Dr. Ellidy for the Sling Rings they were given and
Chip thanks Lupe for her help. However, Lupe mentions how she would
never need to be thanked by the Freedom Fighters as she owed them hugely
for what happened to her years ago.
Lupe flashbacks to then time when her village was being burned down by Dr. Robotnik.
While Sonic ran off to face him, Sally tried to help Lupe cope with the
loss of her father. Antoine helps fend off the badniks. Lupe takes
Sally's advice on moving on and staying strong for her wolf pack very
personally and so takes Antoine's sword to take her anger out on a
Motobug.

Meanwhile, Eggman chases Sonic through the same plain seen
earlier, only this time Sonic did not know about the sudden jolts of
lightning that could occur there. Sonic uses the lightning to his
advantage and it strikes Eggman's machine, defeating him. Sonic taunted
him as he ran back to Sally and Antoine and follows Lupe to the shelter
where her pack would hide during tornados.

Back in the present day, Lupe explains that the difficulty of
driving the invasion away was not intense and thanks to the Freedom
Fighters, she was given hope and is still grateful for this. Sonic
expresses the surprise he had when he learned Lupe's possession of a
Gaia key and she explains to Sally that the temple the E-100 unit was
trying to protect was a fake, only that Lupe and her wolf pack pretended
it had some value. Bunnie also questions if Coral was also looking
after a false temple too. They find out with Chip's discovery of a decoy Prison Egg that Tau was trying to protect the Chaos Emerald that the Freedom Fighters previously lost. Bunnie and Sally decide to go after
the emerald while Sonic and Chip go after the next Gaia key.

Story Two

Hidden Costs, Part One

Sally, Bunnie and Nicole are able to locate the missing Chaos Emerald

in the nearby Egg Army base. They are careful not to alert any
attention by having Nicole wirelessly disrupt the alarm system. After
this, they split up in order to cover more ground and they do so in
front of a live feed camera. Despite this, the Egg soldier that was
supposed to be monitoring this was instead playing a video game in which
he got infuriated with. In the same room, another Egg soldier tells
Clove, the Egg Boss of the unit, that Tau was somehow destroyed in the
Thunder Plains Zone but it was unknown how it went off course. The
video-game Egg soldier lets it slip that the security field had a slight
disturbance, regarding it as a glitch but Cassia, the co-Egg Boss and
Clove's sister, mentions the last time he used a similar excuse for a
lost person at the base. Clove decides to discover who was behind the
disturbance instead of the soldier sounding the alarm.

Cassia wanted to go with Clove but she explained that it would be
better if she went alone, though she ordered for soldiers on standby
just in case. Clove leaves and tells Cassia to remember her treatment.
Cassia, downhearted, asks the Egg soldier what the energy signal on the
monitor was. Half-paying attention, he responds saying it may be another
glitch. Cassia scolds him for slacking and tells him to challenge
himself while he is at it, revealing to him that the game's highest rank
was a triple-s. Cassia then heads out to investigate the energy signal
by herself, despite Clove's orders. Meanwhile, Clove finds Sally
sneaking around for the Chaos Emerald.

Bunnie is able to find the Chaos Emerald at an old alter,
wondering if somebody brought it there, thinking it would save the
world. Before she can claim the emerald, she bumps into Cassia. They
race for the emerald and Cassia realises that Bunnie is a Freedom
Fighter. Both declare that they would not lose another emerald and
engage in a battle for it.

Off Panel

Key Events

Sonic, Sally, Bunnie, and Chip arrive at the wolf village and help Lupe.

Lupe's Post-SGW history is explained: her village was attacked by Eggman's forces, causing the death of her father.

Sonic and Lupe lead the wolf pack to find the keys hiding place and the real prison tower, while Sally and Bunnie head for the temple for the emerald, which is in a shrine overseen by Clove and Cassia.

Clove goes after Sally, while Bunnie and Cassia meet each other and prepare to fight for the chaos emerald.

Quotes

Bunnie: Wasn't that just as good as yer plan?

Sally: It was certainly more reckless and dangerous...

Nicole: Any more than when you entered the Digital Realm to challenge Phage alone? And his tactic was the same as what you--

Background Information

This issue marks Lupe's first appearance in the post-SGW continuity, as well as both her first appearance overall since #238 and in her new design.

She was confirmed to still exist the new continuity back in issue #257.

Additionally, this marks the first appearance of the post-SGW incarnation of the Wolf Pack whom, due to previously being made up of characters created by former writer Ken Penders (sans Lupe herself), is made up of a group of currently-nameless wolf characters.

This marks the first onscreen appearance of E-118 Tau in the series, whom was previously mentioned as existing in the Pre-SGW timeline on the now defunct Sonic Universe blog.

Cameos & References

It's revealed in a flashback that, just like in the comics early days and the SatAM cartoon, Sonic used to call Dr. Eggman "Ro-butt-nik".

In the flashback, Sally has a hairstyle that strongly resembles the one she had in the pilot episode of the animated series, as well as the earliest issues of the comic.

Sally is also shown sporting a different outfit, with an open vest, a sleeveless shirt, denim shorts held up with a belt and blue and white tennis shoes. She doesn't have her Ring-Blades during this point.